A petition calling for an end to the exclusivity arrangement between Scottish Enterprise and developers behind plans for a Flamingo Land resort in Balloch has reached 10,000 signatures.
The campaign, launched by Green MSP for the West of Scotland Ross Greer, calls on the Scottish Government body to end their agreement - which gives developers behind the controversial Lomond Banks plans exclusive rights to purchase the land until the end of 2020.
Proposals for the £30m development included holiday accommodation, a monorail, brewery, boathouse and restaurants in the West Riverside area of the village.
However these were withdrawn last summer after planning officials from Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park recommended that they be refused, with over 57,000 objections lodged via an online portal.
They raised a series of concerns in their report which included worries over its scale.
And Mr Greer now hopes that the public’s response will be enough to convince Scottish Enterprise to end their agreement - and refuse any plans for an extension.
He said: “On top of the record-breaking number of objections to Flamingo Land’s plans for Loch Lomond we now have a massive - and growing - response to our petition to keep the site in public hands.
“This is really important.
“If Flamingo Land still want a development it’s likely they’ll ask Scottish Enterprise for another extension. Even if they announce plans now, they’d have little hope of getting planning permission by the end of this year.
“That means that it’s in the hands of Scottish Enterprise and their bosses in the Scottish Government. If they want to, they can save Loch Lomond by refusing to renew the agreement.
“I hope they listen to the community and others who have supported our petition.”
After putting the plans on hold, director of Lomond Banks, Andy Miller, admitted he wasn’t sure if revised plans would be submitted.
Last year the Balloch native told the Lennox: “There’s obviously a fair amount of work to get through.
“We just need to try and work out what the implications are financially if we are going to go again.
“I am desperate for something to happen, even if it’s not us that does it.
“It must be something that is sustainable and will commercially benefit the area”
